Ketamine Cystitis: What Does the Public Learn from TikTok and YouTube?

Objectives: In the digital age, patients turn to various social media platforms to seek medical information and guidance. TikTok and YouTube are popular social media platforms that have 1 billion and 2.7 billion active users, respectively. Prior studies have identified social media platforms as having poor quality or inaccurate medical information. In this cross-sectional study, we assessed the quality of TikTok and YouTube videos on ketamine cystitis (KC).

Methods: We reviewed the top 50 videos on TikTok using the following search terms: “#ketaminecystitis” and “#ketaminebladder” and the top 50 videos on YouTube using the following search terms “ketamine cystitis” and “ketamine bladder”. Videos were included if they contained information about KC and excluded if they were non-English, did not contain information about the condition, or could not be viewed at time of scoring. The number of likes, comments, shares, views, and self-identified medical credentials of the creator were compiled. The topics covered about KC were recorded, including bladder pain, irritative voiding symptoms, bladder/ureter/kidney damage, and need for cystectomy.

Results: Out of 200 videos screened, 54 videos met inclusion criteria, 14 from TikTok and 40 from YouTube. The TikTok videos had a mean of 15,150 views, 656 likes, 40.5 comments, and 28 shares with only one video created by a healthcare worker (HCW). The YouTube videos had a mean of 188,967 views, 3,080 likes, and 324 comments with 27 videos created by HCW. Of the TikTok videos, the majority of videos (93%) discussed the negative effects of ketamine on the genitourinary tract including bladder pain (n=6), irritative voiding symptoms (n=6), bladder/ureter/kidney damage (n=6), and need for cystectomy (n=4). Of the YouTube videos, all of the videos discussed the negative effects of ketamine on the genitourinary tract including bladder pain (n=17), irritative voiding symptoms (n=23), bladder/ureter/kidney damage (n=35), and need for cystectomy (n=13). Eleven videos mentioned harm reduction strategies to minimize KC effects. One video on TikTok and one video on YouTube contained misinformation, both suggesting that KC does not occur in patients treated at a ketamine clinic. One YouTube video was excluded due to not being in English.

Conclusions: While TikTok videos related to KC are sparse and largely created by the general public, YouTube videos related to KC are more numerous and created by a higher proportion of healthcare workers. Although these videos vary in quality, they generally offered accurate information regarding the range of effects of ketamine on the genitourinary tract. HCWs are encouraged to produce high quality social media content on KC to ensure the public has accessible information about the devastating effects of ketamine on the genitourinary tract.